Feeler mechanism for looms



EI S. STIMPSON.

FEELER MECHANISIVI FOR LOOIVIS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 31, 1919.

Patented Jan. 13', M20.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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@urlano stradine EDWARD S. STIMPSON, OF HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSGNOR T0 DRAPER ClEtPO- ELATION, OIF HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATIQN 0F MAINE.

FEHLER MECHANSM FOR LOMS.

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Specification of Letters Patent. Pmhmgd Igino jg, 1929@ Application led May 31, 1919. Serial No. 300,952.

To all 'whom t may concern.:

Be it known that l, EDWARD S. STIMPSON, of Hopedale, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and Improved Feeler Mechanism for Looms, of which the following is a specification.

ln many weavin mills the same loom is frequently' used w enl weaving both with weft wound on bobbins and with cops. The side slipping type of feeler (which feels for the `weft within the shuttle at the detecting side of the loom and slips laterally along the bared bobbin when the weft is nearly exhausted and thereby initiates the action of weft replenishing mechanism) is admirably adapted for use when the weft is wound upon bobbins, but is not eflicient with cops. The yarn is commonly wound at the base of the cop upon a quill or cop tube of paper. This paper tube is sufficiently rough so that the feeler does not always slip on it when the weft approaches exhaustion so that weft replenishment does n ot take place and the'function of the feeler mechanism is destroyed. The object of the present inven- |tion is to adapt the side-slippingd feeler for The improved feeler-when used with weft wound on bobbins acts in the normal way of side slipping feelers; but, when used with cops, it is in edect a measuring feeler depending for its action upon the distance between the nearly depleted mass of weft and a fixed datum surface, such as the outer face of the front wall of the shuttle. -The improved feeler is rovided with a shuttle feeling finger w ich contacts with the outer surface yof the front wall of the shuttle when the weft is depleted to the predetermined minimum and then vslips laterally along the smooth surface of the shuttle thereby bringing into action the weft replenishing mechanism.

rThe improved feeler mechanism is illustra-ted in the accompanying drawings, wherein--n Figure l', is a plan View of the feeler mechanism and of a,v portion of the shuttle box atthe detecting end of the lay. liig. 2, is an enlarged view of the feeling end of the feelen Eig. 3, is a vertical cross-section in the plane indicatedby the line tls-3 in Fig, l. Fig. d, is a plan view of the mechanism illustrating the weft depleted to the predetermined minimum andthe shuttle feeling finger in its initialcontact with the front wall of the shuttle box. Fig. 5, is a vertical cross section in the plane indicated by the line 5-5 in Fig. d. -Fig. 6, is a View similar to Fig. 4, illustratin the feeler at the conclusion of the side s 1p of the shuttle feelerl finger upon the front wall of the shuttle.

As shown inthe drawings, A, is the side i Athen when the weft is so far depleted as to expose the smooth surface of the bobbinto the weft feeling tip, the feeler would slip laterally, as' in prior feelers of this type, such as that shown, for example, in Letters atent of the United States, No. 1,309,226, July 8, 1919.

The present drawings illustrate ia cop with weft wound upon its base in the usual manner upon a paper quill or cop tube F. The toothed weft feelingtip will not slip with certainty upon this cop tube. Therefore, in order to adapt the feeler for use with cops, it is provided with a shuttle feeling finger G. As shown, this feeling finger is the smooth head of a screw which adjustably screws into a vertically extending standard H, fastened to the top of the feeler A., so that thenger is forward of the weft feeling tip. The shuttle feeler linger is held in any position of adjustment on the standardell by means of a loch nut P.

As shown in thedraw'ings, the feeling end of the .feeler passes through a slot R in the front 'wall S of the shuttle, but the shuttle feeling ngger G extends above the slot R, so that it is adapted to be encountered by the front surface ofthe front wall of the shuttle when the weft is sufficiently depleted, as indicated in Figs, 4f and 5. W hen the weft is so far depleted that it adiords no eective resistance to the toothed weft feeling tip, the shuttle 'feeling linger encounters the smooth outer surface of the front wall of the shuttle and slips laterally thereon, thus .initiating the action of the weft replenishing mechanism. .By adjustment of the shuttle'feeling ringer on the feeler, the amount @if We@ .im the shuttle at the time los lll@

'the side slip of the feeler takes place can be predetermined so that there will be still enough weft left following the side slip to insure the replenishment of the weft before the running weit is entirely exhausted.`

depleted weft` and a fixed datum surface,

such as the front wall of the shuttle. But,

as ameasuring feeler the present mechanism possesses an important advantage. The weft commonly wound on cops is soit and a feeler finger sinks into it, so that ordinary measuring feelers are apt to initiate weftreplenishment prematurely so that a large portion of the weftv is wasted. With the present mechanism, the softness oi* the weft 'is'not a disturbing factor because the critical action of the feeler takes place when the shuttle feelerlinger ed'ectively encounters the smooth front wall of the shuttle and the amount orn weft then in the shuttle can he closely predetermined, thereby reducing the waste to a minimum.,

The side slipping iinger to which the improved shuttle feeling linger is secured may be of any of the types now employed. lt may be a eeler of the impact type wherein the weft 'eelingftip is oiiset laterally with respect to the ieeler support so that the impact of .the weft upon the feeler tends to displace it laterally, such displacement heing prevented by the friction of the weit when present in suilicient quantity, the side slip occurring when the smooth surface of'l `the bobbin encounters the weft feeling tip.

0r the side slipping ileeler may be of the type wherein it is subjected to the lateral pull of aspring which tends to displace the ieeler sidewise. In'. the accompanying drawings, the shuttle feeling tip is shown as applied to the impact type of side slipping feeler which in the respects not yet described is like that disclosed in the aforesaid patent No. 1,309,226. Enough of the cooperating feeler mechanism of that application is shown in the accompanying drawings to enable the side slipping characteristics to be understood.

The feeler A is mounted on a bracket I attached to a lateral extension J of the breast beam. A front guide lil is swii/eledx to the forward end of the bracket and turns on a vertical axis. This front guide has an aperture through which the iront end of the feeler extends and slides. Near its rear end the eeler extends through a broad guide way L in the bracket. The top of this guide way is closed by a cap M, which with the bottom of the bracket confines the iteeler against vertical movement. Secured to the feeler near its middle is a slide N which slides on horizontal ways of the bracket.

A spring Q, surrounds the feeler between the slide N, and theswiveled guide K, and normally holds the eeler arm in its rearward position (shown in Fig. l) with the slide against the shoulders of the bracket which supports the cap M. The feeler arm is also maintained by the spring against the outer. wall ot'V .the rear guide way. 'lhe swiveled guide and the outer wall of the rear guide way are oiiset laterally with respect to the feeler tip so that the wett encounters thetip along a fore and aft path laterally displaced or offset with 'respect to the paths intersecting the guides. So long as the weft encounters the teeth of the weft feeling tip the resistancethus offered prevents any slipping of the ti due to the impact of the weft. ccordlngly, as the lay moves forward, after the first encounter of the weft with the tip, there is no slipping of the tip along the wett; but during the completion of the forward movement of the lay the ieeler is moved forwardly compressing the spring Q. During this normal action there is a slight swing to the right oi' the feeler permitted by the 'turning' of the swireled guide K. lll/hen the shuttle feeling linger is encountered by the front wall of the shuttle, the impact of the shuttle causes a further lateral swing of the ieeler to the right, as shown in Fig. 6, and this additional lateral swing is at least suiicient to set in action `the train of weft replenishing mechanism. This functional swing of the feeler under the impact of the shuttle causes the ieelcr to encounter a controller X, and move it laterally. This controller isniounted in a transverse guide way Y, of a. bracket J, and it has a slot Z, through which the ieeler passes. This slot is suliciently wider than the feeler so that the normal swing ot the feeler has no elect on the controller. When, however, the functional swing of the ieeler is imparted to it by the movement oi' the shuttle feeling tip along the front wall of the shuttle the controller is slid laterally. This lateral movement of the controller is utilized to bring about weft replenishment as explained in detail in the aforesaid patent. After the functional action has occurred a fixed cam W, acts upon a'down- Wardly extending projection V, indicated in dotted lines only in Fig. 6, on the feeler, to

restore the feeler to its normal position as it retreats under the influence of the spring Q, as set forth in said application.

No adjustment of the shuttle feeling:

finger G is required when the improved feeler mechanism is to be used upon weit wound upon bobbins. The greater diameter of the hobbin as compared with that of the cop tufbe insures that the toothed weft feeling tip will be encountered by a bared hobbin before the shuttle feeling linger reaches the shuttle front. Accordingly,

Lenawee when the feeler mechanism is used with weft wound on bobbins, the action is just the same as in the aforesaid patent, Wholly unaffected by the presence of the shuttle feeling finger.

Instead of the auxiliary finger acting upon the shuttle Wall, it might (less desirably) lact upon another smooth datum surface, such as -the front Wall of the shuttle box.

l claim:

l. A feeler mechanism for looms having a side slipping feeler with a toothed weft feeling tip, in combination with a vertical standard secured to the top of the feeler near its tip end, and a shuttle feeling finger adj ustably mounted on said standard with its shuttle feeling end forward yof the toothed' Weft feeler tip, `said shuttle feeling fingerv and to slip laterally upon the front Wall of the shuttle when the weft feeling tip does not make restraining Contact with the weft.

3. A feeler mechanism forlooms having a side slipping feeler with a weft feeling tip,

, in combination with a shuttle feeling finger mounted on the feeler with its shuttle feeling end forwardof the weft feeler tip, said shuttle feeling finger being adapted to be encountered by and to slip laterally upon the front Wall of the shuttle due to the impact thereof `when the weft feeling tip does not make restraining contact With the Weft.`

4. A feeler mechanism for looms having a side slipping feeler with a laterally offset weft feeling tip, in combination, with a laterally oset shuttle feeling finger mountted on'the feeler with its shuttle lfeeling end forward of the weft feeler tip, said shuttle feeling finger being adapted to be encountered lby and to slip laterally upon the front' 'Wall of the shuttle due to the impact thereof'whenthe Weft'feeling tip ydoes not make` end, and an auxiliary feeling finger m0u`nt-.

ed on the feeler forward of the weft feeler tip, said auxiliary feeling finger being adapted to be encountered by and slip laterally upon a smooth surface due to the im-7 pact thereof when the weft feeling tip does not make restraining contact with the Weft.

6. A feeler mechanism for looms having a side slipping feeler with a toothed weft feeling tip, in combination with a; vertical standard'secured to the top ofthe feeler near its tip end, anda shuttle feeling finger movably and adjustably mounted in said standard with its shuttle feeling end for-v ward of the toothed weft feeler` tip, said shuttle feeler finger being adapted to encounter and slip .laterally upon the front Wall of the shuttle when the weft feeling tip does not make restraining contact with the weft.

7. A feeler mechanism for looms having a side slipping feeler with a weft feeling tip, in combination with an auxiliary feeling finger mounted on the feeler forward of the weft feeler tip,.said auxiliary feeling finger being adapted to be encounteredby and slip laterally upon a smooth surface due to the impact thereof when the weft feeling tip does not make restraining contact with the vveft.v

In witness whereof, l,ly have hereunto signed my name. v

EDWARD s. srrMPsoN. f 

